"What would you do if
you knew that this was the last night of the world?"
"What
would I do? You mean seriously?"
"Yes,
seriously."
"I
don't know. I hadn't thought."
He
poured some coffee. In the background the two girls were playing blocks on the
parlour rug in the light of the green hurricane lamps. There was an easy, clean
aroma of the brewed coffee in the evening air.
"Well,
better start thinking about it", he said.
"You
don't mean it!"
He
nodded.
"A
war?"
He
shook his head.
"Not
the hydrogen or atom bomb?"
"No."
"Or
germ warfare?"
"None
of those at all", he said, stirring his coffee slowly. "But just,
let's say, the closing of a book."
"I
don't think I understand."
"No,
nor do I, really; it's just a feeling. Sometimes it frightens me, sometimes I'm
not frightened at all but at peace." He glanced in at the girls and their
yellow hair shining in the lamplight. "I didn't say anything to you. It
first happened about four nights ago."
"What?"
"A
dream I had. I dreamed that it was all going to be over, and a voice said it
was; not any kind of voice I can remember, but a voice anyway, and it said
things would stop here on Earth. I didn't think too much about it the next day,
but then I went to the office and caught Stan Willis looking out the window in
the middle of the afternoon, and I said, A penny for your thoughts, Stan, and
he said, I had a dream last night, and before he even told me the dream I knew
what it was. I could have told him, but he told me and I listened to him."
"It
was the same dream?"
"The
same. I told Stan I had dreamed it too. He didn't seem surprised. He relaxed,
in fact. Then we started walking through the office, for the hell of it. It
wasn't planned. We didn't say, Let's walk around. We just walked on our own,
and everywhere we saw people looking at their desks or their hands or out
windows. I talked to a few. So did Stan."
"And
they all had dreamed?"
"All of them. The same
dream, with no difference."
"Do you believe in
it?"
"Yes. I've never been
more certain."
"And when will it stop?
The world, I mean."
"Sometime during the
night for us, and then as the night goes on around the world, that'll go too.
It'll take twenty-four hours for it all to go."
They sat awhile not touching
their coffee. Then they lifted it slowly and drank, looking at each other.
"Do we deserve
this?" she said.
"It's not a matter of
deserving; it's just that things didn't work out. I notice you didn't even
argue about this. Why not?"
"I guess I've a
reason", she said.
"The same one everyone
at the office had?"
She nodded slowly. "I
didn't want to say anything. It happened last night. And the women on the block
talked about it, among themselves, today. They dreamed. I thought it was only a
coincidence." She picked up the evening paper.
"There's nothing in the
paper about it."
They
moved through the house and turned out the lights and went into the bedroom and
stood in the night cool darkness undressing and pushing back the covers.
"The sheets are so clean and nice."
"I'm
tired."
"We're
all tired."
They
got into bed and lay back.
"Just
a moment", she said.
He
heard her get out of bed and go into the kitchen. A moment later, she returned.
"I left the water running in the kitchen sink", she said.
Something
about this was so very funny that he had to laugh.
She
laughed with him, knowing that it was what she had done that was funny. They
stopped laughing at last and lay in their cool night bed, their hands clasped,
their heads together.
"Good
night", he said, after a moment.
"Good
night", she said.
Ray Bradbury, The Stories 0f Ray Bradbury (1980)
VOCABULARY
(l.6) he poured some coffee = il
apporta du café / il versa du café
(l.7) they were playing blocks = ils jouaient aux cubes / elles jouaient
aux cubes
(l.7) on the parlor rug = le tapis du salon / le tapis du parloir
(l.10) the brewed coffee = le café moulu / le café infusé
(l.12) you don't mean it ! = pas possible ! / tu n'es pas sincère !
(l. 13) he nodded = il opina / il s'assoupit
(l.15) he shook his head = il fit non de la tête / il secoua la tête
(l.18) germ warfare = la guerre contre les Allemands / la guerre
bactériologique
(l.19) stirring his coffee = en remuant son café / en sirotant son café
(l.23) it frightens me = cela m'ennuie / cela m'effraie
(l.31) it was going to be over = tout allait s'achever / tout allait
continuer
(l.34) on Earth = par-terre / sur la Terre
(l.38) a penny for your thoughts = à quoi tu penses ? / je te rappelle
que tu me dois de l'argent ...
(l.46) walking through the office = traverser l'office / traverser le
bureau
(l.47) for the hell of it = comme cela nous chantait / pour mettre la
pagaïe
(l.47) it wasn't planned = tout était soigneusement prévu / tout à
l'improviste
(l.50) looking at their desks = observant leur bureau / observant leurs
bureaux
(l.62) they sat awhile = ils restèrent assis un moment / ils restèrent
assis une seconde
(l.63) they lifted it = ils le soulevèrent / ils le remuèrent
(l.65) do we deserve this? = on prend ce dessert? / est-ce nous méritons
cela?
(l.67) things didn't work out = plus rien ne fonctionnait / cela n'a pas
marché
(l.67) you didn't even argue about this = tu ne t'es même pas disputée /
tu n'en as même pas discuté
(l.74) the women on the block = les femmes du quartier / les femmes du
bloc
(l.76) she picked up the evening paper = elle souleva le papier / elle
prit le journal
(l.82) the covers and the sheets = les draps et les couvertures / les
couvertures et les draps
(l.86) they lay back = ils s'allongèrent / ils s'endormirent
(l.90) the kitchen sink = l'évier de la cuisine / le lavabo de la
cuisine
(l.97) their hands clasped = ils applaudirent / les doigts entrelacés
Compréhension audio-orale - Delete what's false
This document is a press article / an extract from a film's synopsis / a
short-story / an interview
There are one / two / three speakers: one / two male speakers and one /
two female speakers
The man's name is Stan / Ray / mentioned / not mentioned
The woman's name is Tired / Willis / mentioned / not mentioned
The characters are having a conversation / a fight / an argument /
coffee
They must be good friends / husband and wife / brother and sister /
neighbours
They have two / no / children / daughters / sons / pet
The main scene takes place in the morning / in the afternoon / in the
evening / in the middle of the night
It is set at home / at work / at the office / in the parlour
The general atmosphere is tense / relaxed / peaceful / quiet
They are speaking of a bad dream the lady / man / girls had three / four
/ five days ago
This strange dream was a nightmare / a premonitory dream / a bad memory
from childhood
Some colleagues at the office had the same dream / a different dream /
no dream at all / no reaction
It was about the end of the holidays / the start of a new era / the end
of civilization / the millennium bug
All has been announced on TV / on the radio / in the local newspaper /
by the President of the USA
It seems everybody / nobody / somebody / all had the same nightmare
Eventually, they go to bed / watch some TV / have a bath / do the
washing-up in the kitchen
Neither of them seems to be scared / perplexed / frightened / upset
The closing scene gives an impression of peace / serenity / resignation
/ tranquility